


One of Those Stupid Things

by ultrafreakyfangirl



Series: There are only so many hours in a day, but in that day, there are unlimited moments to be had. (Merluca) [5]
Category: Grey's Anatomy
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-09
Updated: 2020-12-09
Packaged: 2021-03-09 19:40:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,827
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27971720
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ultrafreakyfangirl/pseuds/ultrafreakyfangirl
Summary: Andrew DeLuca did some pretty stupid things the night of Jo and Alex's wedding. Kissing Meredith Grey, however, was not one of those stupid things.
Relationships: Andrew DeLuca/Meredith Grey
Series: There are only so many hours in a day, but in that day, there are unlimited moments to be had. (Merluca) [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1680421
Comments: 4
Kudos: 28





	One of Those Stupid Things

**Author's Note:**

> Idk what inspired me to write this, especially in light of Derek's 'return' but here it is! Ignore the trashy Italian - I had to have it in there - those two speaking Italian to each other just gets me

Andrew stood in the middle of Meredith’s sprawling kitchen feeling slightly out of place, but only for a moment; because in that second he spent debating whether or not he should be here, now, with her, with them, _all four of them_ , he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist and the soft sound of breathing against his neck.

He smiled and relaxed instantly, feeling the tenseness in his shoulders melt away at her touch. He was allowed to be here. He was _supposed_ to be here.

“Hey. You look pretty cute in that apron there, Dr. DeLuca,” she chuckled softly, gesturing to the pastel colored apron he had on, knotted at the back around his torso.

He turned around and kissed her fully on the mouth. “That’s Andrew to you.”

When they broke apart she grinned conspiratorially, teasing, before the expression lost itself within another one, sweet, gentle, and of longing. “Andrew…”

She said his name in that way that made him go weak, every time. The way the letters left her mouth, falling from in between her lips and into the air as if she had no self-control. It was pure sex, even when it wasn’t meant to be. Like now.

He winked at her before leaving a kiss in her hair. “Did you get the ingredients for those sugar cookies you promised the kids?”

She nodded before producing a plastic grocery bag full of what he could only assume were things like flour, eggs, and milk. “Signed, sealed and delivered.”

He took the bag from her hands and stuck it on the counter, next to the mixing bowls and spoons and spatulas already there.

“Can we go get the kids from school now? The faster we bake the faster we get to eat.”

“Can’t. They have half an hour left.”

He sighed dramatically, huffing a little. “Can’t we just pull them out? Say there was like a family emergency or something?”

He realized it as soon as he said it. Slow on the uptake these days he was not. He watched closely as Meredith’s face went ashen, her gaze forlorn, and the small noise out of her mouth was controlled, but upset, nonetheless.

“Mer – I didn’t – “

He reached for her, his hand grazing her arm. “That was callous of me. I’m so sorry – I wasn’t trying to – “

“I know. I get it,” she whispered, still in her own head. “It’s okay.”

She was miles away now, but just as quickly, she was back, with him, just as he was deciding to let her have her space, alone.

“We can find _something_ to do to pass the time, I’m sure…”

How she can go so quickly from being somewhere inside herself, unreachable, to tempting him like this, doing that _thing_ with her lip, and then that _other thing_ , how she turns her head just a little bit to allow him a peek at the inner part of her neck, as if she’s just waiting for him to leave his mark on her flesh, but more than that she’s _asking for it._

He was reminded in flashes of that work party all that time ago, her neck, his lips, his hands, her hair, back, sides, hips. Richard Webber. He cringed inwardly, but ultimately chose not to let it ruin the thing they had going here. So, he inched his way up her neck, then back towards her clavicle, listening to her small murmurs of appreciation, before his mouth was over hers and then they were kissing; paying homage to the day they started that fire in Jackson Avery’s guest bedroom.

“I love you,” she spoke against his lips, soft, reverent, and it wasn’t lost on him, nor was his love that he had for her.

“I love you too.”

…

“You guys excited to bake those cookies we’ve been talking about all week?” Meredith asked her kids as she turned to look behind her into the backseat.

“I’m more excited to eat them,” Zola said lazily, and he could bet she barely even looked up from her iPad when she said it.

Some new anatomy simulation she’d found, no doubt. There was nothing stopping her from becoming exactly like her mother, and father for that matter; the other kids found new interests, but not Zola, he could see her most likely being the one of the three that becomes a surgeon. Even as surgery isn’t rooted in her biology, it is in her blood, rushing hard and fast through her veins, at just shy of twelve years old.

“That’s what I said, Zo,” Andrew chuckled, turning down the next residential street.

He felt something come alive within him when Zola shared a smile. They were working on a relationship, piece by piece, something that didn’t cross her boundaries, and whatever the two of them managed together, would be enough for him. 

Bailey was a soft-spoken child, quiet, but he was also an incredibly wise child. Wiser beyond his years. Andrew didn’t like to think about it, but it had stemmed likely from the trauma of losing his dad at such a young, impressionable age. Oh, but he was just so, so, sweet, when he wanted to be, not that there was any sort of malice otherwise, no, he was just shy. Andrew looked briefly into the rear-view mirror, at those precious blue eyes and blonde hair, darkening some with age, at almost nine years old. Bailey caught him looking and immediately averted his eyes but not without the semblance of his cheeky little dimples, those that reminded him so sharply of Meredith.

Ellis was a different story altogether. She was searching for someone, whether she knew it or not, to be there for her in the way that she’d grown up knowing her dad had been for both her siblings. Of course, Derek would always be there with her, Andrew wasn’t sure if he believed in any sort of after or eternal life, but what he did believe was that Meredith would keep him alive for her in anecdotes, and small, shared idiosyncrasies. She believed that he deserved that much, and so did he, because believe it or not, Andrew DeLuca was a respectable man who didn’t believe in stepping on other people’s toes.

However, in saying that, Ellis deserved someone who would be here for her, now, too. He was more than happy to be that person, in whatever capacity Meredith was comfortable with, and Ellis, of course; who didn’t seem to mind having him as a larger presence in her life, and she seemed to take comfort in it.

Honestly, so did he. He wasn’t prepared for how much and how fast he would begin to love these three kids of hers. It just _happened._ Of course, as dumb and cliched as that sounds, but it _did_. There is no other way to describe it. In this past year, he’s settled into life with them in a way he never would have expected, and it feels unreal half the time.

When they got into the house, the kids all threw their jackets off and kicked their shoes towards the closet, for which Meredith promptly scolded them, and then watched on with satisfaction as they all immediately put their shoes on the shelf and hung up their coats. She was such a good mom, and he knew that she probably wouldn’t believe it if he told her; so for now, he kept the thought to himself with a secret sort of smile.

Now, he was watching Ellis struggle to meld the wet and dry ingredients together for the cookie batter, because she insisted it should be her job and he knew that there were times where Meredith didn’t have the heart to say no to her youngest, so instead she asked if she could lend a hand. Literally.  
  


“Do you need some help there, Ellie Bear?”

Ellis shook her head and Meredith seemed to hold back a sigh. She was as every bit stubborn and determined as her mom, but still, he had a feeling he might be able to break through that stubbornness. He’s gotten quite good at it with her mother.

“Can I do it, Principessa? I haven’t stirred cookie batter before and I kind of want to try it.”

Ellis looked at him quizzically, baby curls falling in front of those baby blue eyes. Geez, how was she _almost seven_ already? 

Andrew just couldn’t believe it. In his mind, she was still just shy of five, a few weeks off from celebrating her birthday, and shielding herself behind Meredith’s legs when she introduced him to her. Although she wasn’t in the end the slow-to-warm-up one, she was at first the shiest one.

Now, not so much. Meredith often says she likes him more than her, which is so not true, but it’s a sweet thing to say.

“Okay. But only because you’ve never done it before. Not because I need help.”

He smiled at her, careful not to give himself away as he took the spatula from her and started to mix. “Thank you, El. You’re too kind.”

She grinned cheekily at him and there – there in the way her thin lips sloped just a fraction higher on the one side, was Meredith – her smile, and the little twinkle in her eyes.

Ellis showcased her mother’s features in flashes, bright, sometimes overwhelming, flashes; because sometimes when it happens like that, he finds himself thinking what it would be like to lose her, like she lost Derek, and how looking at Ellis’s face might just break him. And putting that on a child just wasn’t fair, so he tried to think about how _beautiful_ Meredith is instead – alive, and here, with him. It usually worked. Like now.

“What are you thinking about over there?” Meredith asked him while beginning to spoon the batter into balls beside him, before allowing Bailey to put them on the cookie sheet. “You’re mixing the batter into really soft goop there, how about we stop, huh?”

He chuckled. Blushed a little. He was caught. No wonder he was talking to him like he talked to her kids. He was busted.

“Just how gorgeous you are.”

“Awe, how sweet,” she cooed, pressing a palm to his chest, and kissing him square on the mouth.

“Ew!” Bailey and Ellis squealed in tandem, covering their eyes with their hands in the way kids do.

“Come on guys,” Zola said, acting pretty cool about the whole situation. “It’s just kissing. Auntie Amelia kisses Uncle Link all the time. It’s not _that_ gross.”

Andrew laughed and gently pulled at one of her braids. “You, missy, better think that kissing is at least a little bit gross until you’re much older. Got it? No kissing boys until you’re twenty. No, thirty.”

“Ew! I’m not going to be kissing any boys. I just meant it’s not gross when other people do it, like on TV or whatever.”

“Thank god,” Meredith breathed out. “She won’t be kissing any boys until she gets into med school. Or if she doesn’t want to be a doctor then – “

“Come on, Mer. She totally does. Right Zo?”

“I want to be a surgeon just like you and Andrew, Mama,” Zola assured her, “And Dad.” There was a brief, solemn pause. “And Auntie Amelia, Auntie Maggie…practically everyone in our family is a doctor.”

“She’s not wrong,” Andrew shrugged as he watched Zola take the cookies and put them in the oven. “Careful, don’t burn yourself.”

Zola put the cookies on the oven rack and shut the door. After setting the timer, she turned to look at him. “If I’m going to be saving lives on a daily basis, maybe I should be getting used to a burn here or there.”

Meredith took Zola’s hand and kissed it sloppily until she began to squirm. “Not on my watch, ZoZo,” she told her daughter, letting her hand go after another few seconds.

“Or mine,” Andrew said before he could think about possibly stopping himself from saying it out loud.

Although, to his surprise, or maybe not, Zola Grey-Shepherd smiled in unspoken understanding and acceptance, and there seemed to be appreciation, and a strong likeness there, too. They were making progress, it felt like, day by day. 

…

A couple hours later, he was sitting on the couch with Bailey beside him on one side and Zola on the other, while Ellis was on his lap. Meredith had just finished pouting, jokingly of course, about how Ellis had chosen his lap over hers.

“Bailey, come here little man. Come sit on my lap.”

Bailey shook his head, and it wasn’t the first time Andrew noticed a shagginess to his hair. It was cute, but he needed a haircut soon for sure. “No, Mom, I’m okay. I’m too old for that kind of stuff now.”

Meredith’s pouty lips intensified which made him want to kiss them even more. Dammit. “ZoZo?”

Zola acknowledged her in quite the same way her brother had. And with a sidelong glance that was _all Zola._ “If Bailey’s too old, then I am _way_ too old. Sorry Mom.”

Meredith sighed. He watched Ellis’s eyes move between her and him, indecisive, before crawling over to Meredith. Andrew teasingly pulled on her leg before she moved too far.

“Thanks for ditching me, El. One little sad face from your mom and you’re gone.”

When Ellis looked at him a bit regretfully, he smiled to show he was only kidding around. “I would be too. Don’t worry about it,” he said, and there was instant relief on her face.

She was such a sweetheart. He was so, incredibly lucky to have her. To have all of them.

He caught Meredith’s eye. “Sad face… I’ll keep that in mind, babe,” she said, and his heart was on fire.

He loved when she called him _babe._ Somehow she made it sound so tender and he felt comforted by it, safe. Loved. He reciprocated, which he knew made her feel young. Young and dumb. Dirty. Especially in Italian. But loved. Loved in the way that he was capable of loving her. Loved enough, is what she’d told him before, loved plenty. More than she deserves. He disagrees.

“But what will I wear!?” he lamented in his best Grinch voice, prompting a burst of adorable little giggles from Ellis and laughter from Zola and Bailey, even Meredith.

It was his party trick. Not necessarily the crowd pleaser at bachelor parties, but it got the job done here, and _here_ was so much better than he could have ever imagined it to be.

He finished the story a few minutes later, and much to the begrudging of all three kids, it was past their bedtime.

“Okay,” Meredith lifted Ellis off of her lap. “Bed. Now. Everyone.”

Three matching sets of footsteps paraded up the stairs and into their bedrooms, not one of them bothering to wonder where Andrew was sleeping tonight, or why he hadn’t made a move to leave through their front door before their _official-official_ bedtime. In other words, the time they all finally made it to bed after not one, not two, but three false starts.

“Okay,” Meredith collapsed onto the couch beside him fifteen minutes later. She seemed tired. “They’re all down for the count.”

Andrew gave her a smile that was, if he was being transparent, more of a sexy smirk. “You sure? Even Ellis?”

“Yes.” A breathy sigh. Frustration, _god_ , he sure hoped so. “Even Ellis.” She leaned in close to him and they fell into a sort of kiss that melted his entire body.

“So you’re making the waffles tomorrow,” she said to him once they separated, sitting up some.

He pulled her back down to him, not ready to give up the feel of her lips on his just yet. “Are you trying to ruin the mood?” he asked her, raising an eyebrow.

“No. Quite the opposite, actually.”

She mimicked his expression and before she kissed him again, he felt her hair tickling his cheek and the exposed skin of his neck.

“I’m asking you to stay the night,” she whispered against his skin. “In my bed. With me. And you can actually go to sleep after we have sex.”

He chuckled. “How enticing.”

“Mhm…” She was hard at work on his neck, now.

“Well in that case, Dr. Meredith Grey, _voglio scuotere il tuo mondo” **(I’ll rock your world)**_

“Well then, Dr. Andrew DeLuca,” she replied, just as cheeky, _“mi piacerebbe vederti provare.” **(I’d like to see you try).**_

In response, he pinned her down against the couch and kissed her harder, slower, as slow as he could possibly withstand.

Even though Christmas was still two weeks away, he’d already gotten everything he asked for this year. In the form of a feisty, attractive, surgeon and her three wonderful kids. Nothing else is ever, _ever_ going to come close.


End file.
